This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/06/world/africa/kenya-presidential-election.html

The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Early Tally Shows Kenyatta Ahead in Kenya Vote Early Tally Shows Kenyatta Ahead in Kenya Vote
(35 minutes later)
NAIROBI, Kenya — With about a quarter of the votes counted, Uhuru Kenyatta, the scion of a founding political family who has been accused by the International Criminal Court of crimes against humanity, on Tuesday held a commanding lead in Kenya’s national election, according to preliminary results. NAIROBI, Kenya — Uhuru Kenyatta, a Kenyan politician who has been charged by the International Criminal Court with crimes against humanity, was leading by a wide margin in the Kenya election on Tuesday, with more than a third of the votes counted.
Election observers cautioned that the lead so far might not be representative of the countrywide vote to be counted later, but Mr. Kenyatta’s lead remained strong from the moment the first tallies came in. Overnight figures showed Mr. Kenyatta winning around 55 percent to the 40 percent secured by his rival, Raila Odinga, Kenya’s current prime minister. Mr. Kenyatta, who is one of the richest men in Africa and a deputy prime minister and has been accused of bankrolling death squads that killed women and children, was ahead 55 percent to 41 percent over the second-place candidate, Raila Odinga, Kenya’s prime minister.
Preliminary results showed that voters, who poured into the polls on Monday, some waiting for 10 hours, voted overwhelmingly along ethnic lines, with some areas voting 98 percent for the leader from their ethnic group. Many shops in Nairobi remained shuttered, with people worried about riots once the final results are declared and a clear winner and loser become apparent.
Police officers were everywhere, some wearing helmets and padded riot suits. Kenya’s election commission has been steadily tabulating the votes and expects a preliminary result by Wednesday. Kenya’s police chief, ‪ David Kimaiyo, said that several suspects had been arrested in connection with a spate of attacks on Monday, in which at least four police officers were murdered with machetes. He said more suspects were on the loose and added, “We will catch them.”
Kisumu, a city in western Kenya and Mr. Odinga’s ethnic stronghold, which exploded in riots in 2007 and 2008 during the last presidential election, was quiet on Tuesday.
“We’re just waiting,” said Christine Ololo Atieno, a seller of secondhand shoes and a passionate Odinga supporter. “People are still hoping that more votes will come in and things will change.”
Mr. Odinga says he was cheated out of winning the last election, and many analysts say that Kisumu could erupt again if there is vote rigging and Mr. Odinga loses again.
Millions of Kenyans poured into polling stations on Monday to cast their ballots in a crucial, anxiously awaited presidential election, and as the voting proceeded relatively smoothly a real chance emerged that a candidate charged with financing death squads could win the race, raising an array of complex challenges for Kenya’s international relationships and with the court itself.Millions of Kenyans poured into polling stations on Monday to cast their ballots in a crucial, anxiously awaited presidential election, and as the voting proceeded relatively smoothly a real chance emerged that a candidate charged with financing death squads could win the race, raising an array of complex challenges for Kenya’s international relationships and with the court itself.
The United States and other Western allies of Kenya have warned of “consequences” if Mr. Kenyatta wins, though few Western officials have been willing to discuss exactly what kind of repercussions or sanctions this could bring.The United States and other Western allies of Kenya have warned of “consequences” if Mr. Kenyatta wins, though few Western officials have been willing to discuss exactly what kind of repercussions or sanctions this could bring.
Voter turnout on Monday was tremendous, election officials said, starting hours before dawn, with lines of voters stretching nearly a mile long.
In Nairobi’s Kibera slum, a sprawling settlement of rusted shanties and footpaths littered with plastic bags, mango pits and virtually every other class of garbage, some people waited nine hours on their feet under a withering sun.
“We’re tired! We’re tired!” they yelled. But still, they stayed in their places, with no food or drink, determined to vote.
“People didn’t come in a trickle — they flooded,” said Njeri Kabeberi, the executive director of the Center for Multiparty Democracy-Kenya, a nonprofit organization.
Ms. Kabeberi said that the voting was slow in many places but orderly, and that over all the election was going “very, very well.”
This is Kenya’s first presidential vote since 2007, when a dubious election, marred by widespread evidence of vote rigging, set off ethnic clashes that swept the country and left more than a thousand people dead. Many Kenyans have worried that history could repeat itself, and in the past week, the atmosphere in Nairobi has been almost like a hurricane about to hit.This is Kenya’s first presidential vote since 2007, when a dubious election, marred by widespread evidence of vote rigging, set off ethnic clashes that swept the country and left more than a thousand people dead. Many Kenyans have worried that history could repeat itself, and in the past week, the atmosphere in Nairobi has been almost like a hurricane about to hit.
Flour, rice, bread and other staples were stripped from supermarket shelves as families stocked up on supplies, in case riots break out. Stores were shuttered on Monday, and most cars stayed off the roads. Many people have fled ethnically mixed urban areas, fearing reprisal killings should the vote go awry. Flour, rice, bread and other staples were stripped from supermarket shelves as families stocked up on supplies, in case riots break out. Many people have fled ethnically mixed urban areas, fearing reprisal killings should the vote go awry.
The worst violence erupted on Kenya’s coast, but it was not clear how connected it was to the voting. Police officials said that a large gang — possibly up to 200 people — ambushed a patrol in the port city of Mombasa early Monday and killed four officers with machetes. At least two other police officers were killed elsewhere, and the authorities immediately blamed the Mombasa Republican Council, a fringe separatist group that opposed the elections and believes Kenya’s coastal zone should be a separate country.
Analysts said the attackers might have timed their strikes to take advantage of the fact that Kenya’s security services were stretched extremely thin, with a rifle-toting security officer assigned to the door of each polling station — and there were more than 30,000 stations nationwide.
Kenya’s most powerful politicians have been urging voters to be peaceful and to avoid the mayhem that erupted at the end of 2007 and in early 2008.
“We must keep the peace,” said William Ruto, after voting early Monday.“We must keep the peace,” said William Ruto, after voting early Monday.
Mr. Ruto was running for deputy president as Mr. Kenyatta’s running mate, and he has also been charged by the International Criminal Court with crimes against humanity, accused of orchestrating widespread violence. After the last botched election, Mr. Ruto’s supporters killed scores of Kikuyus, the ethnic group of Mr. Kenyatta and Kenya’s president, Mwai Kibaki, who is stepping down because of term limits. Many of Mr. Ruto’s supporters had backed Mr. Odinga at the time and claimed that the Kikuyus had historically oppressed them and rigged that election.Mr. Ruto was running for deputy president as Mr. Kenyatta’s running mate, and he has also been charged by the International Criminal Court with crimes against humanity, accused of orchestrating widespread violence. After the last botched election, Mr. Ruto’s supporters killed scores of Kikuyus, the ethnic group of Mr. Kenyatta and Kenya’s president, Mwai Kibaki, who is stepping down because of term limits. Many of Mr. Ruto’s supporters had backed Mr. Odinga at the time and claimed that the Kikuyus had historically oppressed them and rigged that election.
But in a sign of how pliable political alliances can be, analysts said, Mr. Ruto and Mr. Kenyatta decided to team up this time to improve their chances of beating the charges in the International Criminal Court. Preliminary election results showed that many members of Mr. Ruto’s ethnic group, the Kalenjin, had voted for Mr. Kenyatta. But in a sign of how pliable political alliances can be, analysts said, Mr. Ruto and Mr. Kenyatta decided to team up this time to improve their chances of beating the charges in the International Criminal Court. Kenya is of the most industrialized and democratic countries in sub-Saharan Africa, a beachhead for Western interests and a close American ally, but its history has been haunted by intense, often violent ethnically charged politics. Mr. Odinga says he was cheated out of winning the election in 2007.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Odinga, a member of the Luo ethnic group, brimmed with confidence as he stepped into a cardboard ballot booth in the Kibera slum and cast his vote.
“Today, Kenyans have a date with destiny,” he said, predicting victory.
Kenya is one of the most industrialized and democratic countries in sub-Saharan Africa, a beachhead for Western interests and a close American ally, but its history has been haunted by intense, often violent ethnically charged politics. Mr. Odinga says he was cheated out of winning the election in 2007.
Before Monday, many analysts predicted that neither Mr. Odinga nor Mr. Kenyatta, a deputy prime minister and the son of Kenya’s first president, would win more than 50 percent of the vote, mandating a runoff in April. There is also a requirement that the winner receive 25 percent of the vote in the majority of Kenya’s counties, which, in a country crisscrossed by stubborn ethnic fault lines, could be difficult.Before Monday, many analysts predicted that neither Mr. Odinga nor Mr. Kenyatta, a deputy prime minister and the son of Kenya’s first president, would win more than 50 percent of the vote, mandating a runoff in April. There is also a requirement that the winner receive 25 percent of the vote in the majority of Kenya’s counties, which, in a country crisscrossed by stubborn ethnic fault lines, could be difficult.
In the Mathare area of Nairobi, the voting resembled an assembly line of democracy. One poll worker verified fingerprints with a computer scanner, another tore ballots from a big pad, and another stamped ballots as voters filed past, one by one, disappearing into cardboard voting booths and then emerging a few minutes later to stuff their ballots into a row of color-coded tubs. All was done quietly and efficiently.
“We are calm,” said Mary Mwaura, an election official in Mathare. “We are very O.K.”
In other places, though, things were bumpy. Many polls opened late, and in some places, perplexed election workers arrived at dawn without the user name or password to start their computers, which spelled long delays. At night, after the polls closed, the results began to flow in, via encrypted data messages, to an election center in Nairobi, the capital, where the numbers were immediately posted on large video screens. Observers said it was a vast improvement over the last election, in which there were huge discrepancies between the results recorded at polling stations and the results then tabulated in Nairobi.
This election is the most complicated Kenya has ever held. A host of new positions has been created, like governorships, Senate seats and county women representatives, in an attempt to change the winner-take-all nature of Kenyan politics. And Kenyan civic groups have tried mightily to make this an election about issues, not about ethnicity, with countless public service advertisements telling voters to pick candidates based on their integrity and plans.This election is the most complicated Kenya has ever held. A host of new positions has been created, like governorships, Senate seats and county women representatives, in an attempt to change the winner-take-all nature of Kenyan politics. And Kenyan civic groups have tried mightily to make this an election about issues, not about ethnicity, with countless public service advertisements telling voters to pick candidates based on their integrity and plans.
Still, many Kenyans vote along ethnic lines, picking a candidate from their ethnic group.Still, many Kenyans vote along ethnic lines, picking a candidate from their ethnic group.
Terry Wamaitha, a vegetable seller and a Kikuyu, boasted of how she had voted for Mr. Kenyatta.Terry Wamaitha, a vegetable seller and a Kikuyu, boasted of how she had voted for Mr. Kenyatta.
When asked if this was for ethnic reasons, she smiled.When asked if this was for ethnic reasons, she smiled.
“No way,” she said. “It’s just that he’s our boy.”“No way,” she said. “It’s just that he’s our boy.”